PROGRESS IS SLOW. But progress is progress.

As part of the campaign to rout Saddam loyalists, soldiers entered Halladia, a suburb of Fallujah, in helicopters, Bradley fighting vehicles and Humvees and arrested nine men, U.S. military officials said.

Troops found as many as 70 tank rounds being used to make explosives, a large number of AK-47 assault rifles and a sniper rifle, a military commander said.

"Every day it's getting a little bit better, and we're able to take the initiative away from the bad guys," said Lt. Col. Jack Hammond of the 211th Military Police Battalion in Fallujah.

"When we first got here, we spent most of the time dodging bullets and [rocket-propelled grenades] that they were firing. Now we're getting to kick in their doors and arrest them through the intelligence we've been getting," Hammond said.

Read it all here.